Gooey substance on beach deemed organic not tar

FORT MORGAN, Alabama -- A dark gooey substance that washed ashore near Fort Morgan after Hurricane Isaac was reported to be organic matter and not a tar mat, state and Gulf Shores officials said Tuesday.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Coast Guard have told city officials that the gooey mass is natural and not tar, according to Brandan Franklin, the building official for the city of Gulf Shores.

Crews were cleaning up the blackish goo after residents reported the sticky substance in the sand.